Consumer Advocate

Smart Homes

In most Australian states consumers can now choose their electricity retailer. Choosing the right electricity retailer provides a relatively simple means of lowering electricity costs. Electricity tariffs used to be straight-forward but choosing a new retailer may also involve choosing from a range of new tariffs including Time of Use and Demand charges.

Modern technology is now available which can be used to make homes more efficient and comfortable. The right choices can reduce energy costs.

In these articles Dr Gill discusses recent developments to both consumer tariffs and technology options.

The Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC’s) Smart Meters give consumers no control over their data. While the lack of data privacy is worrying the AEMC smart meters also support several “other services” What AEMC smart meters do • Allow retailers to disconnect power remotely • Reveal when consumers use appliances…

The Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC’s) smart meter rollout ensures every Australian household will eventually receive a smart meter. Compared to traditional domestic meters the AEMC smart meters collect 26,000 times more information about consumer electricity use. The meters provide unprecedented insights into exactly how much and when consumers use…

The list of services supported by the AEMC Smart Meter rollout is inadequate to manage the impact of solar and battery storage systems on the distribution network. Failing to support a voltage service is a missed opportunity potentially adversely affecting the quality, reliability and cost of electricity for all electricity consumers.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) constantly reviews existing market rules to ensure they remain in the long term interest of consumers. This review finds major market reforms undertaken as part of their “Power of Choice” were not undertaken in the long term interest of consumers.

Australian households will soon be offered the option to install a ‘smart meter’ but will they view the meter as a smart device? Reviewing features of smart devices reveals when viewed from the perspective of the customer, smart meters are not smart devices.